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With the escalating cost of health care, many people are looking for a more cost-effective way to pay for it. For eligible individuals, a Health Savings Account (HSA) offers a tax-favorable way to set aside funds (or have an employer do so) to meet future medical needs. Here are four tax benefits:
Eligibility
To be eligible for an HSA, you must be covered by a “high deductible health plan.” For 2023, a high deductible health plan is one with an annual deductible of at least $1,500 for self-only coverage, or at least $3,000 for family coverage. (These amounts are scheduled to increase to $1,600 and $3,200 for 2024.)
For self-only coverage, the 2023 limit on deductible contributions is $3,850. For family coverage, the 2023 limit on deductible contributions is $7,750. (These amounts are scheduled to increase to $4,150 and $8,300 for 2024.) Additionally, annual out-of-pocket expenses required to be paid (other than for premiums) for covered benefits for 2023 can’t exceed $7,500 for self-only coverage or $15,000 for family coverage ($8,050 and $16,100 for 2024).
An individual (and the individual’s covered spouse) who has reached age 55 before the close of the year (and is an eligible HSA contributor) may make additional “catch-up” contributions for 2023 and 2024 of up to $1,000 per year.
HSAs may be established by, or on behalf of, any eligible individual.
Deduction limits
You can deduct contributions to an HSA for the year up to the total of your monthly limitation for the months you were eligible. For 2023, the monthly limitation on deductible contributions for a person with self-only coverage is 1/12 of $3,850. For an individual with family coverage, the monthly limitation on deductible contributions is 1/12 of $7,750. Thus, deductible contributions aren’t limited by the amount of the annual deductible under the high deductible health plan.
Also, taxpayers who are eligible individuals on the first day of the last month of the tax year are treated as having been eligible individuals for the entire year for purposes of computing the annual HSA contribution.
However, if an individual is enrolled in Medicare, he or she is no longer eligible under the HSA rules and contributions to an HSA can no longer be made.
On a once-only basis, taxpayers can withdraw funds from an IRA and transfer them tax-free to an HSA. The amount transferred can be up to the maximum deductible HSA contribution for the type of coverage (individual or family) in effect at the transfer time. The amount transferred is excluded from gross income and isn’t subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty.
Taking distributions
HSA distributions to cover an eligible individual’s qualified medical expenses (or those of his or her spouse or dependents, if covered) aren’t taxed. Qualified medical expenses for these purposes generally means those that would qualify for the medical expense itemized deduction. If funds are withdrawn from the HSA for other reasons, the withdrawal is taxable. Additionally, an extra 20% tax will apply to the withdrawal, unless it’s made after reaching age 65 or in the event of death or disability.
As you can see, an HSA offers a very flexible option for providing health care coverage, but the rules are somewhat complicated. Contact us if you have questions.
© 2023
Many Americans own a vacation home or aspire to purchase one. If you own a second home in a waterfront community, in the mountains or in a resort area, you may want to rent it out for part of the year.
The tax implications of these transactions can be complicated. It depends on how many days the home is rented and your level of personal use. Personal use includes vacation use by you, your family members (even if you charge them market rent) and use by nonrelatives if a market rent isn’t charged.
Short-term rentals
If you rent the property out for less than 15 days during the year, it’s not treated as “rental property” at all. In the right circumstances, this can produce revenue and significant tax benefits. Any rent you receive isn’t included in your income for tax purposes. On the other hand, you can only deduct property taxes and mortgage interest — no other operating costs or depreciation. (Mortgage interest is deductible on your principal residence and one other home, subject to certain limits.)
If you rent the property out for more than 14 days, you must include the rent received in income. However, you can deduct part of your operating expenses and depreciation, subject to certain rules. First, you must allocate your expenses between the personal use days and the rental days. This includes maintenance, utilities, depreciation allowance, interest and taxes for the property. The personal use portion of taxes can be deducted separately. The personal use part of interest on a second home is also deductible (if eligible) when it exceeds the greater of 14 days or 10% of the rental days. However, depreciation on the personal use portion isn’t allowed.
Losses may be deductible
If the rental income exceeds these allocable deductions, you report the rent and deductions to determine the amount of rental income to add to your other income. But if the expenses exceed the income, you may be able to claim a rental loss. This depends on how many days you use the house for personal purposes.
Here’s the test: if you use it personally for more than the greater of 14 days or 10% of the rental days, you’re using it “too much” and can’t claim your loss. In this case, you can still use your deductions to wipe out rental income, but you can’t create a loss. Deductions you can’t claim are carried forward and may be usable in future years. If you’re limited to using deductions only up to the rental income amount, you must use the deductions allocated to the rental portion in this order:
If you “pass” the personal use test, you must still allocate your expenses between the personal and rental portions. However, in this case, if your rental deductions exceed your rental income, you can claim the loss. (The loss is “passive,” however, and may be limited under passive loss rules.)
Navigate a plan
These are only the basic rules. There may be other rules if you’re considered a small landlord or real estate professional. Contact us if you have questions. We can help plan your vacation home use to achieve optimal tax results.
© 2023
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act liberalized the rules for depreciating business assets. However, the amounts change every year due to inflation adjustments. And due to high inflation, the adjustments for 2023 were big. Here are the numbers that small business owners need to know.
Section 179 deductions
For qualifying assets placed in service in tax years beginning in 2023, the maximum Sec. 179 deduction is $1.16 million. But if your business puts in service more than $2.89 million of qualified assets, the maximum Sec. 179 deduction begins to be phased out.
Eligible assets include depreciable personal property such as equipment, computer hardware and peripherals, vehicles and commercially available software.
Sec. 179 deductions can also be claimed for real estate qualified improvement property (QIP), up to the maximum allowance of $1.16 million. QIP is defined as an improvement to an interior portion of a nonresidential building placed in service after the date the building was placed in service. However, expenditures attributable to the enlargement of a building, elevators or escalators, or the internal structural framework of a building don’t count as QIP and usually must be depreciated over 39 years. There’s no separate Sec. 179 deduction limit for QIP, so deductions reduce your maximum allowance dollar for dollar.
For nonresidential real property, Sec. 179 deductions are also allowed for qualified expenditures for roofs, HVAC equipment, fire protection and alarm systems, and security systems.
Finally, eligible assets include depreciable personal property used predominantly in connection with furnishing lodging, such as furniture and appliances in a property rented to transients.
Deduction for heavy SUVs
There’s a special limitation on Sec. 179 deductions for heavy SUVs, meaning those with gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR) between 6,001 and 14,000 pounds. For tax years beginning in 2023, the maximum Sec. 179 deduction for heavy SUVs is $28,900.
First-year bonus depreciation has been cut
For qualified new and used assets that were placed in service in calendar year 2022, 100% first-year bonus depreciation percentage could be claimed.
However, for qualified assets placed in service in 2023, the first-year bonus depreciation percentage dropped to 80%. In 2024, it’s scheduled to drop to 60% (40% in 2025, 20% in 2026 and 0% in 2027 and beyond).
Eligible assets include depreciable personal property such as equipment, computer hardware and peripherals, vehicles and commercially available software. First-year bonus depreciation can also be claimed for real estate QIP.
Exception: For certain assets with longer production periods, these percentage cutbacks are delayed by one year. For example, the 80% depreciation rate will apply to long-production-period property placed in service in 2024.
Passenger auto limitations
For federal income tax depreciation purposes, passenger autos are defined as cars, light trucks and light vans. These vehicles are subject to special depreciation limits under the so-called luxury auto depreciation rules. For new and used passenger autos placed in service in 2023, the maximum luxury auto deductions are as follows:
These allowances assume 100% business use. They’ll be further adjusted for inflation in future years.
Advantage for heavy vehicles
Heavy SUVs, pickups, and vans (those with GVWRs above 6,000 pounds) are exempt from the luxury auto depreciation limitations because they’re considered transportation equipment. As such, heavy vehicles are eligible for Sec. 179 deductions (subject to the special deduction limit explained earlier) and first-year bonus depreciation.
Here’s the catch: Heavy vehicles must be used over 50% for business. Otherwise, the business-use percentage of the vehicle’s cost must be depreciated using the straight-line method and it’ll take six tax years to fully depreciate the cost.
Consult with us for the maximum depreciation tax breaks in your situation.
© 2023
Recent IRS warnings and announcements regarding the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) have raised some businesses’ concerns about the validity of their claims for this valuable, but complex, pandemic-related credit — and the potential consequences of an invalid claim. In response, the IRS has rolled out a new process that certain employers can use to withdraw their claims.
Fraudsters jump on the ERTC
The ERTC is a refundable tax credit intended for businesses that 1) continued paying employees while they were shut down due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, or 2) suffered significant declines in gross receipts from March 13, 2020, to December 31, 2021. Eligible employers can file claims until April 15, 2025 (on amended returns), and receive credits worth up to $26,000 per retained employee.
With such potentially large payouts, fraudulent promoters and marketers were quick to rush in with offers to help businesses file claims in exchange for fees in the thousands of dollars or for a percentage of any refunds received. The requirements for the credit are strict, though, and the IRS has found that many of these claims fall short of meeting them.
Invalid claims put taxpayers at risk of liability for credit repayment, penalties and interest, in addition to the promoter’s fees. And promoters may leave out key details, which could lead to what the IRS describes as a “domino effect of tax problems” for unsuspecting employers.
The IRS responds
The wave of fraudulent claims has produced escalating action from the IRS. In July 2023, the agency announced that it was shifting its ERTC review focus to compliance concerns, with intensified audits and criminal investigations of both promoters and businesses filing suspect claims. Two months later, it imposed a moratorium on the processing of new ERTC claims.
The moratorium, prompted by “a flood of ineligible claims,” will last until at least the end of 2023. The processing of legitimate claims filed before September 14 will continue during the moratorium period but at a much slower pace. The IRS has extended the standard processing goal of 90 days to 180 days and potentially far longer for claims flagged for further review or audit.
According to the IRS, though, the moratorium isn’t deterring the scammers. It reports they’ve already revised their pitches, pushing employers that submit ERTC claims to take out costly upfront loans in anticipation of delayed refunds.
Now, the IRS has unveiled a new withdrawal option for eligible employers that filed claims but haven’t yet received, cashed or deposited refunds. Withdrawn claims will be treated as if they were never filed, so taxpayers need not fear repayment, penalties or interest. (The IRS also is developing assistance for employers that were misled into claiming the ERTC and have already received payment.)
The withdrawal option is available if you:
The exact steps vary depending on your circumstances, including whether you filed your claim yourself or through a payroll provider, have been notified that you’re under audit, or have received a refund check that you haven’t cashed or deposited. Regardless of the applicable procedure, your withdrawal isn’t effective until you receive an acceptance letter from the IRS.
Taxpayers that aren’t eligible for the withdrawal process can reduce or eliminate their ERTC claim by filing an amended return. But you may need to amend your income tax return even if your claim is withdrawn.
Seek help
Throughout its warnings about potential ERTC pitfalls, the IRS has continued to urge taxpayers to consult “trusted tax professionals.” If you’re having second thoughts about your ERTC claim, we can help you review your claim and, if appropriate, properly withdraw it.
© 2023
Now that Labor Day has passed, the holidays are just around the corner. Many people may want to make gifts of cash or stock to their loved ones. By properly using the annual exclusion, gifts to family members and loved ones can reduce the size of your taxable estate, within generous limits, without triggering any estate or gift tax. The exclusion amount for 2023 is $17,000.
The exclusion covers gifts you make to each recipient each year. Therefore, a taxpayer with three children can transfer $51,000 to the children this year free of federal gift taxes. If the only gifts made during a year are excluded in this fashion, there’s no need to file a federal gift tax return. If annual gifts exceed $17,000, the exclusion covers the first $17,000 per recipient, and only the excess is taxable. In addition, even taxable gifts may result in no gift tax liability thanks to the unified credit (discussed below).
Note: This discussion isn’t relevant to gifts made to a spouse because these gifts are free of gift tax under separate marital deduction rules.
Married taxpayers can split gifts
If you’re married, a gift made during a year can be treated as split between you and your spouse, even if the cash or gift property is actually given by only one of you. Thus, by gift-splitting, up to $34,000 a year can be transferred to each recipient by a married couple because of their two annual exclusions. For example, a married couple with three married children can transfer a total of $204,000 each year to their children and to the children’s spouses ($34,000 for each of six recipients).
If gift-splitting is involved, both spouses must consent to it. Consent should be indicated on the gift tax return (or returns) that the spouses file. The IRS prefers that both spouses indicate their consent on each return filed. Because more than $17,000 is being transferred by a spouse, a gift tax return (or returns) will have to be filed, even if the $34,000 exclusion covers total gifts. We can prepare a gift tax return (or returns) for you, if more than $17,000 is being given to a single individual in any year.
“Unified” credit for taxable gifts
Even gifts that aren’t covered by the exclusion, and are thus taxable, may not result in a tax liability. This is because a tax credit wipes out the federal gift tax liability on the first taxable gifts that you make in your lifetime, up to $12.92 million for 2023. However, to the extent you use this credit against a gift tax liability, it reduces (or eliminates) the credit available for use against the federal estate tax at your death.
Be aware that gifts made directly to a financial institution to pay for tuition or to a health care provider to pay for medical expenses on behalf of someone else don’t count towards the exclusion. For example, you can pay $20,000 to your grandson’s college for his tuition this year, plus still give him up to $17,000 as a gift.
Annual gifts help reduce the taxable value of your estate. The estate and gift tax exemption amount is scheduled to be cut drastically in 2026 to the 2017 level when the related Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions expire (unless Congress acts to extend them). Making large tax-free gifts may be one way to recognize and address this potential threat. They could help insulate you against any later reduction in the unified federal estate and gift tax exemption.
© 2023
If your investments have fluctuated wildly this year, you may have already recognized some significant gains and losses. But nothing is decided tax-wise until year end when the final results of your trades will reveal your 2023 tax situation. Here’s what you need to know to avoid tax surprises.
Tax-favored retirement accounts and taxable accounts
If you’ve had wild swings in the value of investments held in a tax-favored 401(k), traditional IRA, Roth IRA or self-employed SEP account, there’s no current tax impact. While these changes affect your account value, they have no tax consequences until you finally start taking withdrawals. At that point, the size of your balance(s) will affect your tax bills. If you have investments in a Roth IRA, qualified withdrawals taken after age 59½ can be federal-income-tax-free.
With taxable accounts, your cumulative gains and losses from executed trades during the year are what matter. Unrealized gains and losses don’t affect your tax bill.
Overall loss for 2023
If your losses for the year exceed your gains, you have a net capital loss. To determine and apply the loss:
Overall gain for 2023
If your gains for the year exceed your losses, you have a net capital gain. To figure out the gain:
Net short-term and long-term gain
A net short-term capital gain is taxed at your regular federal income tax rate, which can be up to 37%. You may also owe the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) (see below) and state income tax, too.
A net long-term capital gain (LTCG) is taxed at the lower federal capital gain tax rates of 0%, 15%, and 20%. Most individuals pay 15%. High-income folks will owe the maximum 20% rate on the lesser of: 1) net LTCG or 2) the excess of taxable income, including any net LTCG, over the applicable threshold. For 2023, the thresholds are $553,850 for married joint-filers, $492,300 for singles and $523,050 for heads of households. You may also owe the NIIT and state income tax, too.
Watch out for the NIIT
The 3.8% NIIT hits the lesser of your net investment income, including capital gains, or the amount by which your modified adjusted gross income exceeds the applicable threshold. The thresholds are:
Year end is still months away
As explained earlier, your tax results for 2023 are up in the air until all the gains and losses from trades executed during the year are tallied up. If you have questions or want more information, consult with us.
© 2023
Are you looking to simplify your accounts payable process? Are you tired of having to sign batches of checks each month? Are you tired of file cabinets and file boxes full of prior year A/P backup documentation? Do you get calls from vendors wanting to know the status of payments when they are already enroute? Looking to simplify your monthly bank rec? There is a fantastic and easy to implement solution to A/P headaches like these.
We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with BILL to help you simplify your financial operations—and cut the time you spend on accounts payable in half*.
Here are just some of the ways BILL can help your business:
Want to learn more? Join us on October 25 at 1 p.m. for a webinar where we’ll show you how BILL can help you save time and money. PLUS: WCS clients who attend will get a $50 DoorDash gift card.
*BILL users on average save 50% of time on AP, according to a 2021 survey of over 2,000 BILL customers.
Most not-for-profits regard their volunteers as invaluable assets. After all, if it weren’t for your volunteers’ dedication and commitment, your organization might have stalled out a long time ago. It certainly wouldn’t have accomplished as many successes!
However, like your paid staffers, volunteers represent some liability risk. For example, an allegation of volunteer negligence or intentional misconduct could motivate litigation against your nonprofit. A volunteer who’s injured while volunteering could sue your organization. And in certain situations, you could be held liable even if a volunteer acted outside the scope of prescribed duties or accepted procedures. Act now to reduce the possibility that a volunteer could threaten your nonprofit’s future.
Adopt certain policies
Operating without unpaid help is probably out of the question. But you can use volunteers with greater confidence by adopting these four best practices:
1. Establish a formal volunteer recruitment process. Although the process doesn’t have to be as structured as the one you follow when hiring staffers, document procedures that can be followed consistently. For instance, develop volunteer job descriptions for open positions that outline the nature of the work to be performed, any required skills or experience, and any possible risks the job presents.
2. Screen prospects based on your mission, programs and likely activities. Some positions will pose few risks and your screening process can be relatively basic: Ask candidates to fill out an application and submit to an interview, and then check their work and character references. Positions that carry greater risks — such as work involving children, the elderly and other vulnerable populations, or that provide direct access to cash donations — require a more rigorous process.
3. Provide training, supervision and, if necessary, discipline. Once volunteers are on board, provide an orientation session to explain your nonprofit’s mission, policies and rules of conduct. After volunteers have begun working for you, actively supervise them. This means that staff members should remain in close physical proximity to volunteers or that volunteers can easily contact staff in the event of a problem. If a volunteer acts in a manner that puts your nonprofit at risk, terminate the volunteer relationship.
4. Maintain adequate insurance coverage. In addition to general liability coverage, your nonprofit may want to consider purchasing supplemental policies that address specific types of exposure such as medical malpractice or sexual misconduct.
Get advice
When establishing volunteer policies, be sure to ask an attorney to review them before you put them in place. Contact us to discuss insurance coverage and other risk mitigation strategies.
© 2023
Although conflict-of-interest policies are essential for all not-for-profits, private foundations must be particularly careful about adhering to them. In general, stricter rules apply to foundations. For example, you might assume that transactions with insiders are acceptable so long as they benefit your foundation. Not true. Although such transactions might be permissible for 501(3)(c) nonprofits, they definitely aren’t for foundations. Specifically, transactions between private foundations and “disqualified persons,” such as certain insiders, are prohibited.
A wide net
The IRS casts a wide net when defining “disqualified persons.” Its definition includes substantial contributors, managers, officers, directors, trustees and people with large ownership interests in corporations or partnerships that make substantial contributions to the foundation. Their family members are disqualified, too. In addition, when a disqualified person owns more than 35% of a corporation or partnership, that business is considered disqualified.
Prohibited transactions can be hard to identify because there are many exceptions. But, in general, you should ensure that disqualified persons don’t engage in these activities with your foundation:
Disqualified persons also shouldn’t agree to pay money or give property to government officials on your behalf.
Possible penalties
What happens if you violate the rules? The disqualified person may be subject to an initial excise tax of 10% of the amount involved and, if the transaction isn’t corrected quickly, an additional tax of up to 200% of the amount. What’s more, an excise tax of 5% of the amount involved is imposed on a foundation manager who knowingly participates in an act of self-dealing, unless participation wasn’t willful and was due to reasonable cause. An additional tax of 50% is imposed if the manager refuses to agree to part or all of the correction of the self-dealing act.
Although liability is limited for foundation managers ($40,000 for any one act), self-dealing individuals enjoy no such limits. In some cases, private foundations that engage in self-dealing lose their tax-exempt status.
Go the extra mile
If you lead a private foundation, you must go the extra mile to avoid anything that might be perceived as self-dealing. Transactions between foundations and disqualified persons are firmly prohibited, and violating this rule can be costly. But it’s easy to get tripped up by IRS rules. So contact us to help ensure you’re coloring well within the lines.
© 2023
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